A question for Chessie owners -

This is a forum for bonding with your fellow Dogsters about the traits, quirks and idiosyncrasies of your favorite breed. Please remember that there are absolutely no animal sales or requests for studding or breeding allowed on our sites. All posts and interactions should be in the spirit of Dogster's Community Guidelines and should be fun, friendly and informational. Enjoy!

Is it genetically possible for a purebred Chesapeake Bay Retriever to be red merle? From what I know about Chessies, the answer is no. How about this - a dog that is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever x Lab? I still think no. Chessies are uncommon where I live, I've only seen one purebred before at a show, so I just want some verification.

I'm mainly curious since our neighbor has this gorgeous red merle dog. He's a big boy and very sweet. I'm fairly certain he's a purebred Catahoula. They seem to think that his merle coloring is an indication that he is a Chessie for some reason. I've also recently noticed a dog up for adoption in my area who is also a red merle color and listed as a Chesapeake Bay Retriever mix.

I find this perplexing because I've always known Chessies to be various shades of solid brown (unless of course, there's a dilution gene) with no other coat pattern possible. Anyway, some help would be greatly appreciated. I've read the Chessie breed standard and that backs up my own knowledge but I'd like to see a few responses from Chessie owners. Thanks!

You never received an answer...the most significant sign of a chessie or chessie mix is the wave on the shoulders, neck, back and loins only. Moderate feathering on rear of hindquarters and tail is permissible. The color must be as nearly that of its working surroundings as possible. Any color of brown, sedge or deadgrass is acceptable. A white spot on the breast, belly, toes, or back of the feet (immediately above the large pad) is permissible, but the smaller the spot the better, solid colored preferred. I have seen them with a hound like eyebrow marking of a lighter shade. I've never seen those markings in the show ring, only field trials.